Thursday, February 5, 2009

You're Getting VERY Sleepy....

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for….the results of the hypnotherapy!

First of all, I went in more nervous than I’d expected. Suddenly, the idea of surrendering my will to a stranger seemed a little scary, but my therapist was so kind and gentle that I became comfortable very quickly.

We started off by talking about why I was there.

“I want to stop this addiction to sugar,” I told her and then explained that I’d always been seduced by cakes, cookies, candy, and ice cream. All the calories I’d burned at the gym were usually right back in my body by nine o’clock that same night.

“We’ll tell your long-term memory that you don’t like synthetic sugar any more,” the therapist assured me. “That way, your short-term memory will stop taking over when you’re faced with a cupcake or a bag of M&Ms.”

Hopeful, I was led through a relaxation process until my body fell asleep while my mind stayed sharp. It was a very strange sensation.

My therapist, whose voice was as warm and soft and comfortable as a bubble bath, told me over and over that I no longer wanted sugary foods. When she told me to open my eyes, I thought the whole session had taken about 20 minutes. It’d been in that state for an hour!

That afternoon, I made a birthday cake for my father-in-law. I didn’t even lick the beaters! Better yet, I really didn't want to.

Am I cured? Not yet. It’ll take 4-6 weeks of listening to CDs every night and two more appointments to change a life-long food addiction, and I can feel my mind at war when I see some of my favorite temptations, but I’m going to do my part to take this therapy seriously.

Feel free to ask me any questions! I know lots of you were curious about hypnosis!